NEW YORK — Social media giant Twitter is among the latest U.S. companies to report that it is among a growing list of victims of Internet security attacks, saying that hackers may have gained access to information on 250,000 of its more than 200 million active users.

And now, the Washington Post is joining the chorus, revealing the discovery of a sophisticated cyberattack in 2011.

Twitter said in a blog post on Friday, Feb. 1, it detected attempts to gain access to its user data earlier in the week. It shut down one attack moments after it was detected.

But Twitter discovered that the attackers may have stolen user names, email addresses and encrypted passwords belonging to 250,000 users they describe as “a very small percentage of our users.” The company reset the pilfered passwords and sent emails advising the affected users.

The Twitter attack comes on the heels of recent hacks into the computer systems of U.S. companies, including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Both newspapers reported this week that their computer systems had been infiltrated by China-based hackers. On Friday, The Washington Post disclosed in an article published on its website that it was also the target of a sophisticated cyberattack, which was discovered in 2011.

Biden: U.S. would hold Iran talks

MUNICH — The United States is prepared to hold direct talks with Iran in the standoff over its nuclear ambitions, Vice President Joe Biden said Saturday — but he insisted that Tehran must show it is serious and Washington won’t engage in such talks merely “for the exercise.”

During a trip to an international security conference in Germany, Biden also addressed Syria’s civil war. He met the leadership on both sides of the conflict, offering a glimmer of hope for stalled efforts to end the violence.

Washington has indicated in the past that it’s prepared to talk directly with Iran, and talks involving all five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany have made little headway while several rounds of international sanctions have cut into Iran’s oil sales and financial transactions.

No end to standoff as town grieves

MIDLAND CITY, Ala. — As the standoff with a man accused of holding a 5-year-old boy hostage continued Saturday, a nearby community prepared to bury the beloved bus driver who was shot to death when the episode started to unfold five days ago.

Charles Albert Poland Jr., 66, was described as a hero who gave his life Tuesday to protect the children on his bus. Visitations services for Poland were scheduled for Saturday evening.

Authorities said Jim Lee Dykes boarded a school bus Tuesday. When Poland tried to block him, the gunman shot him and took one 5-year-old boy — who police say remains in an underground bunker with Dykes.

French president visits Timbuktu

TIMBUKTU, Mali — France’s president, Francois Hollande, paid a triumphant visit to the ancient city of Timbuktu on Saturday, receiving a rapturous welcome from thousands of people who gathered to dance, play drums and chant, “Vive la France!”

But questions remain about what, exactly, France has accomplished aside from chasing Islamic extremists from the cities.

“These Islamists, they have not been defeated,” said one resident. “Hardly any of them have been killed.”

Hollande, speaking to French and Malian troops gathered here, praised the alacrity of their victories.

“You have accomplished an exceptional mission,” he said. But, he later added, “The fight is not over.”

N.Y. woman found dead in Turkey

ISTANBUL — A Staten Island, N.Y., woman who failed to return home from a vacation alone in Turkey last month, setting off a frantic search by U.S. and Turkish authorities, was found dead Saturday, according to her family.

The body of Sarai Sierra, 33, was found near a roadway, the semiofficial Anatolian Agency reported.

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